This invention relates to envelope systems such are widely used for the purpose of billing customers. Such systems have an outgoing envelope with a reply envelope and a bill located in the outgoing envelope. When the customer receives the outgoing envelope, he or she opens it, removes the reply envelope and bill, tears the bill along a tear line into two pieces, inserts one of those pieces along with his or her check in the reply envelope and mails the reply envelope.
By using impact printing and certain carbonized areas, addresses may be printed on the envelopes, and billing information on the billing statement.
For years prior to my invention, Transkrit Corp., of Roanoke, Va. sold an envelope system along the lines taught in its U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,759. That patent teaches an outgoing envelope 20, having a removable tab portion 15, along the top edge of the back side of the envelope. The reply envelope (FIG. 7) is inside of the outgoing envelope 20 with a flap 28 directly underneath the tab 28 of the outgoing envelope 20, when the envelope system is viewed from the rear.
My copending application Ser. No. 09/328,417, filed Jun. 9, 1999 and entitled POSTAL OUTGOING AND REPLY ENVELOPE SYSTEM shows an envelope system. That application teaches an envelope system in which the tab, for opening the outgoing envelope, and the flap, for sealing the reply envelope, and the bill are all adjacent the bottom edge of the envelope system as viewed from the rear side thereof.
The above-mentioned envelope systems have a disadvantage in that a customer who has not previously used the system, or who is in a hurry to open the outgoing envelope may, when he or she hurriedly grabs the tab on the outgoing envelope may also grab the flap, or other portion of the underlying reply envelope. In such case when the customer rips open the tab of the outgoing envelope he or she at the same time damages the reply envelope and bill.
Only a short portion of the tab 28, usually at one end of the tab is pinched by a human hand and pulled to open the envelope. It is the portion of the billing sheet, or the portion of the flap 28 that is vertically below said portion which can be accidentally grabbed during the opening of the outgoing envelope.
The above problem is solved by the present invention. The flap on the reply envelope is formed from a sheet of paper which sheet becomes the rear wall of the reply envelope. By reshaping said sheet, and by reshaping the bill, the probability that an inexperienced person will damage the reply envelope and bill when he, or she, opens the outgoing one is greatly reduced.
The reshaping of said sheet and the bill involves reducing the size of those parts that lie directly under the portion of the tab that is held by the human hand while the tab is being pulled to open the outgoing envelope. Alternatively, the flap and billing statement may be reshaped to eliminate entirely any part of the flap and billing statement that is underneath said portion.
Normally, when a person desires to open the outgoing envelope he or she moves a finger and thumb (which are parts of a hand) in a path so that the finger is on one side and the thumb on the other side of the portion of the tab that is adapted to be pinched or held by a human hand. Following the pinching, the person pulls on the tab portion and rips the tab off of the outgoing envelope.
According to this invention, any billing statement and any flap on the return envelope are of such shape and position that they are outside of any path that a finger and thumb might take when the finger and thumb are moved to the pinching position.